S&P 500 and Nasdaq Close at Records as Earnings Are Week's Focus

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at records Monday as investors focused on the busiest week of earnings season and a Federal Reserve that is expected to leave key policy settings unchanged.

The S&P 500 closed up 0.18% to 4,187, while the Nasdaq finished up 0.87% to 14,138. Both indexes also set intraday record highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61 points, or 0.18%, to 33,981. Consumer-products major Procter & Gamble (PG) led the Dow's decline, finishing off 2%.

The S&P 500 set a record intraday high during Monday's session. The broad market index fell 0.1% last week, the S&P 500's first weekly loss in the previous five.

More than 180 companies in the S&P 500 will be reporting earnings this week. They include such giants as Tesla (TSLA), Amazon.com (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Apple (AAPL).

Corporate earnings have been mostly positive so far this earnings season. More than 85 of the 125 companies that have reported so far have topped analysts' forecasts.

First-quarter profit for companies in the S&P 500 are expected to rise 34% from a year earlier to a share-weighted $362.8 billion, according to forecasts from Refinitiv.

Economic data also have pointed to an economy primed for a strong recovery.

Continued support from the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve, which meets Tuesday and Wednesday this week, also have put the U.S. on a firmer path than countries such as India and Brazil, which are struggling with a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was unchanged Monday at 1.567%.

“Big tech earnings, a look into Q1 GDP, and the Fed meeting could create catalysts for market moves. Though despite the strong earnings reports weve seen thus far, the market is really taking beats in stride amid already high valuations.”

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